U.S. patent application number 10/968419 was filed with the patent office on 2006-04-20 for system and method for transmitting multi-channel signals.
This patent application is currently assigned to Cayin Technology Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Shao-Ning Chang, Che-Ming Chi.
Application Number | 20060085834 10/968419 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36182319 |
Filed Date | 2006-04-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060085834 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; Shao-Ning ; et
al. |
April 20, 2006 |
System and method for transmitting multi-channel signals
Abstract
The present invention disclosed a system and method for
transmitting multi-channel signals. With this system and method,
each user can watch all available DTV channels without an exclusive
antenna and tuner. The UDP port numbers are applied as the virtual
channels to be selected by users, and decreasing the number of
required antennas and tuners also decrease cost. The system
comprises a plurality of audio/video sources for providing
audio/video content and a server. A hub is coupled to the server,
and a plurality of display units is coupled to the hub, whereas
each of the display units receives the audio/video signals and
displays the audio/video content from at least one of the
audio/video sources.
Inventors: |
Chang; Shao-Ning; (Taipei,
TW) ; Chi; Che-Ming; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KUSNER & JAFFE;HIGHLAND PLACE SUITE 310
6151 WILSON MILLS ROAD
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS
OH
44143
US
|
Assignee: |
Cayin Technology Co., Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
36182319 |
Appl. No.: |
10/968419 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
725/115 ;
348/E7.05; 348/E7.061; 725/114; 725/116; 725/119 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/4516 20130101;
H04N 21/2665 20130101; H04N 7/163 20130101; H04N 21/2143 20130101;
H04N 21/2146 20130101; H04N 21/64322 20130101; H04N 21/454
20130101; H04H 20/62 20130101; H04N 21/43632 20130101; H04N 7/106
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/115 ;
725/114; 725/116; 725/119 |
International
Class: |
H04N 7/173 20060101
H04N007/173 |
Claims
1. A system for transmitting audio/video signals, which comprises:
a plurality of audio/video sources for providing audio/video
content; a server coupled to said plurality of audio/video sources
for assigning one of network port indexes to each of said plurality
of audio/video sources, and generating said audio/video signals
based on said audio/video content, thereafter transmitting said
audio/video signals; a hub coupled to said server; and a plurality
of display units coupled to said hub, wherein each of said
plurality of display units receives said audio/video signals and
displays said audio/video content from at least one of said
plurality of audio/video sources.
2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of
audio/video sources include a plurality of DTV (digital television)
receivers, and said plurality of digital television receivers has
at least one antenna and at least one tuner for receiving a DTV
channel.
3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of
audio/video sources include a radio, a cassette player, a tape
player, a VCD player, a DVD player, a VHS player, wired/wireless
LAN with audio/video content, wired/wireless WAN with audio/video
content, a webcam, a video camera, a digital still camera, a
digital video camera, a microphone, a CD/DVD ROM, a hard disk, a
floppy disk, a flash memory storage device, a ZIP drive, a SCSI
storage device, an IEEE 1394 storage device, a USB storage device,
a tuner, an A/D converter, a D/A converter, or a device/means which
can store, generate, convert, transfer, or transmit audio/video
signals/files.
4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hub is a switch
hub, a router, a wireless access point, or a gateway.
5. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network port
indexes include numbers of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) ports or
numbers of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) ports.
6. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said audio/video
signals are transferred in the form of UDP packets or TCP
packets.
7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said server
compresses said audio/video signals before said audio/video signals
are transmitted.
8. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said server converts
said audio/video signals into digital signals.
9. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of
display units include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray
tube (CRT) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting
diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED)
display, a projector, a speaker, an earphone, a headphone, or a
device which can present information in visual/acoustic form.
10. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said audio/video
content from at least one of said plurality of audio/video sources
is displayed by selecting at least one of said network port indexes
via at least one of said plurality of display units.
11. A method for transmitting audio/video signals, which comprises:
receiving audio/video content from a plurality of audio/video
sources; assigning one of network port indexes to each of said
audio/video sources; generating said audio/video signals based on
said audio/video content, wherein said audio/video signals contain
assignation information corresponding to said network port indexes;
transmitting said audio/video signals to a plurality of display
units; and displaying said audio/video content from at least one of
said plurality of audio/video sources on at least one of said
display units.
12. The method as set forth in claim 11, which further comprises:
compressing said audio/video signals before transmitting said
audio/video signals.
13. The method as set forth in claim 11, which further comprises:
converting said audio/video signals into digital signals if said
audio/video signals are analog signals.
14. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein a server is used
to assign said network port indexes, and generate and
compress/convert said audio/video signals, thereafter transmit said
audio/video signals.
15. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said server are
coupled to said plurality of display units via a hub, which is a
switch hub, a router, a wireless access point, or a gateway.
16. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said plurality of
audio/video sources include a plurality of DTV (digital television)
receivers for receiving DTV channels.
17. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said plurality of
audio/video sources include a radio, a cassette player, a tape
player, a VCD player, a DVD player, a VHS player, wired/wireless
LAN with audio/video content, wired/wireless WAN with audio/video
content, a webcam, a video camera, a digital still camera, a
digital video camera, a microphone, a CD/DVD ROM, a hard disk, a
floppy disk, a flash memory storage device, a ZIP drive, a SCSI
storage device, an IEEE 1394 storage device, a USB storage device,
a tuner, an A/D converter, a D/A converter, or a device/means which
can store, generate, convert, transfer, or transmit audio/video
signals/files.
18. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said network port
indexes include numbers of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) ports or
numbers of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) ports.
19. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said audio/video
signals are transferred in the form of UDP packets or TCP
packets.
20. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said plurality of
display units include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray
tube (CRT) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting
diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED)
display, a projector, a speaker, an earphone, a headphone, or a
device which can present information in visual/acoustic form.
21. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said audio/video
content from at least one of said plurality of audio/video sources
is displayed by selecting at least one of said network port indexes
via at least one of said plurality of display units.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related to a system for
transmitting multi-channel signals, especially to a system for
transmitting multi-channel signals with a unique network port for
each channel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Digital television (DTV) has gained increasing popularity in
the recent period. In the analog world, all communication media has
a certain frequency, and exclusive channels were required for
transmission. However, new technological breakthroughs in the
digital world have allowed media to overlap. Data, sound and video
signals are all reduced to the same binary code, and can be
transmitted by a variety of devices over many areas of the
spectrum. In addition, information can be transmitted more
efficiently. Since the transmission of DTV signals is pretty
reliable relative to that of traditional TV signals, it is possible
to receive and watch high quality DTV in a motor vehicle moving in
high speed.
[0003] Analog or traditional TV sets receive radio signals through
the airwaves or electrical signals via cable. The signals
transmitted by radio wave are displayed by the degree of color
brightness for each particular pixel on the TV screen. Digital TV
sets also receive electrical signals, but signals represent either
a "digital zero" or a "digital one". A decoder then turns this
digital stream into patterns of pixels on the screen. Therefore, a
tuner and an antenna are required to watch DTV with
multi-channel.
[0004] It is tedious to travel long hours either by bus, train,
boat, and sometimes even by airplane, so the proprietors have
provided some entertainments for passengers, such as video games or
VCD players. Since the content of these entertainments is usually
invariable and out-of-date, the application of DTV may solve such a
problem. With the advent of a DTV system, passengers could watch
real-time TV programs, and the proprietors pay nothing for the
automatically updated content.
[0005] Although a DTV system has many benefits, the disadvantage of
a DTV system is that each seat should be equipped with an antenna
for receiving DTV signals and a tuner for selecting desired
channels. In other words, suppose a bus could seat thirty, then
thirty antennas and thirty tuners are needed for passengers to
watch DTV with multi-channel. As a result, the cost of providing
such equipments remains fairly high.
[0006] In brief, in order to provide multi-channel DTV programs in
the mass transit, an efficient and inexpensive system should be
disclosed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Given the current problem faced with high cost, the present
invention provides a system and method for transmitting
multi-channel signals. With this new system and method, fewer
antennas and tuners are required in transportation vehicles with
plenty of seats. Therefore, the cost of the DTV system would
decline.
[0008] One aspect of this new invention discloses a system for
transmitting multi-channel signals and comprises a plurality of
audio/video sources for providing audio/video content. A server is
coupled to the audio/video sources for assigning one of network
port indexes to each of the audio/video sources, and generates the
audio/video signals based on the audio/video content, thereby
transmitting the signals. A hub is coupled to the server and a
plurality of display units is coupled to this hub, wherein each of
these display units receives the audio/video signals and displays
the audio/video content from at least one of the sources. The
audio/video sources may be a plurality of DTV receivers, and the
network port index may be UDP port number or TCP port number. In
addition, the display units may include a liquid crystal display
(LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a plasma display panel
(PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light
emitting diode (OLED) display, a projector, a speaker, an earphone,
a headphone, or a device which can present information in
visual/acoustic form. With such system, an end user is able to
choose a specific "channel" by selecting a corresponding network
port index via one of the display units, and this "channel"
substantially represents certain audio/video source.
[0009] Another aspect of the present invention discloses a method
for transmitting multi-channel signals. This method may comprise
steps of receiving audio/video content from a plurality of
audio/video sources. Next, one of the network port indexes is
assigned to each of the audio/video sources, and the signals are
generated on the basis of the audio/video content. The signals
contain information corresponding to the network port indexes.
After that, the audio/video signals are transmitted to a plurality
of display units. Finally, at least one of the audio/video sources
is displayed on at least one of the display units. Similar to the
above system, the audio/video sources may be a plurality of DTV
receivers, and the network port index may be UDP port number or TCP
port number. Besides, the display units may include a liquid
crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a plasma
display panel (PDP), or a projector. An end user is able to choose
a specific "channel" by selecting a corresponding network port
index via one of the display units, and this "channel"
substantially represents certain audio/video source.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0012] FIG. 1 shows the system 100 which is one embodiment of the
present invention. The system 100 is introduced to transmit DTV
signals and local audio/video source to end users. To receive DTV
signals, the system 100 includes a plurality of, for example, three
receivers 310, 320, and 330 as audio/video sources. Each of these
receivers include a tuner (311, 321, or 331) and an antenna (312,
322, or 332), respectively. In our figure, the number of the
receivers is cited merely for illustration instead of limitation,
and the present invention would encompass any number of the
receivers (including one). In another aspect of the present
invention, receivers may share the same antennas or the same
tuners; that is, the number of antennas or tuners would be less
than the receivers. Although each of the receivers 310, 320, and
330 possess an exclusive tuner and antenna in the preferred
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, fewer tuners and antennas could be used
in other embodiments of the present invention. In addition, these
receivers may also receive audio/video signals other than DTV
signals, including FM audio signals or conventional (analog) TV
signals.
[0013] In this embodiment, each of the receivers 310, 320, and 330
is predetermined to pass a certain DTV channel. In other words, the
antennas 312, 322, 332 receive the same DTV signals, yet each of
the tuners 311, 321, 331 is set to a fixed DTV channel. For
example, the tuner 311 is set to channel A, the tuner 321 is set to
channel B, and the tuner 331 is set to channel C, provided that the
channels A, B, and C are different from each other, and the
channels of these receivers are still changeable. Next, the three
receivers feed the audio/video content with specific channels into
a server 200. The major work of the server 200 is to assign a
network port index to each of the audio/video sources, i.e., the
DTV receivers. The UDP port number is applied as the network port
index. However, the types of the network port index are variable,
such as the TCP port number, and the present invention would
encompass any possible port index provided by various network
protocols.
[0014] In this embodiment, the UDP port 1 is assigned to the
receiver 310, the UDP port 2 is assigned to the receiver 320, and
the UDP port 3 is assigned to the receiver 330, respectively. The
above example is cited for illustration instead of limitation.
Next, the sever 200 would generate audio/video signals based on the
audio/video content of the receivers 310, 320, 330 after the
reception of the content. The audio/video signals preferably
contain the above mentioned presentation. In other words, the
audio/video signals may include a mapping table recording the
relationship between the DTV receivers and the UDP port numbers.
The audio/video signals with mapping table would be transferred to
a plurality of display units 510-570 via a hub 400.
[0015] Moreover, the system 100 may further comprise a local
audio/video source 600, such as a VCD player, a DVD player, a VHS
player, or a hard disc with a video file stored therein. The
audio/video content of such local audio/video source 600 is also
fed to the server 200, and the server 200 would assign a UDP port
number, UDP port 4 for example, to the local audio/video source
600. In addition, the audio/video signals and the mapping table
should also contain relative data of the local audio/video source.
Besides, other types of the audio/video sources could also be
utilized in the present invention, such as a radio, a cassette
player, a tape player, wired/wireless LAN with audio/video content,
wired/wireless WAN with audio/video content, a webcam, a video
camera, a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a
microphone, a CD/DVD ROM, a hard disk, a floppy disk, a flash
memory storage device, a ZIP drive, a SCSI storage device, an IEEE
1394 storage device, a USB storage device, a tuner, an A/D
converter, a D/A converter, or a device/means which can store,
generate, convert, transfer, or transmit audio/video
signals/files.
[0016] Since the video from the audio/video sources may be
transferred as analog signals, the server 200 may have to convert
them into digital signals. Besides, the audio/video content might
be abundant, so the corresponding audio/video signals would be
tremendous in file size. Therefore, the server 200 may also
compress the audio/video signals before transmit them. The signal
conversion and compression technologies are well known to the
ordinary people skilled in the art, so the description of signal
compression is omitted to prevent from obscuring the present
invention.
[0017] The compressed audio/video signals are subsequently
transferred in form of UDP packets or TCP packets to the display
units. In FIG. 1, there are seven display units 510-570. The number
of the display units is cited merely for illustration, not to limit
the scope of the present invention. Any possible number of the
display units, even up to hundreds, could be included in the
present invention. The hub 400 is preferably a switch hub, and the
other types of equivalent device may also be applied, such as a
router, a wireless access point, or a gateway. In the embodiment,
the server 200, the display units 510-570 are coupled to the hub
via RJ-45 cables. Other ways of coupling may also be adopted, such
as WiFi or Bluetooth wireless transmission.
[0018] The system 100 may be built in a mass transportation tool,
for example, bus, train, ship and airplane. In such situation, the
display units 510-570 would be the personal entertaining devices
installed and adapted to their seats. Preferably, the number of the
display units is exactly the same as that of the seats.
[0019] Next, the operation of display unit 510 is taken for
example, and the operation of remaining display units 520-570 is
similar and omitted.
[0020] The display unit 510 could receive all audio/video signals
from the server 200 via the hub 400. The display unit 510 may
provide some control means, such as a keypad, for a user. The user
is able to select specific UDP port number and let the display unit
510 display the audio/video content of the corresponding
audio/video source. For example, if the user selects UDP port 2,
then the display unit 510 would display the audio/video content of
the receiver 320. Similarly, if the UDP port 4 is selected, the
audio/video content of the local audio/video source 600 would be
displayed.
[0021] It is noted that although the user substantially select
certain UDP port number, he/her may select a channel to watch, even
without an actual tuner. The proprietor can choose a few DTV
channels to provide, and the cost would be limited to the number of
selected DTV channels. In other words, if the number of the
provided DTV channels is smaller than that of the seats, the cost
would be less and also saves space because fewer tuners and
antennas are required. Generally, the number of selected DTV
channels plus that of local video device is far fewer than that of
the seats. As we know, if the bus has tens of seats, yet there are
usually fewer than ten selected DTV channels. Furthermore, this
system could also apply to a boat, a train, an airplane, or even in
a building. In these situations, the required display units are
always much more than the DTV channels. Hence, the system of the
present invention is economical and lowers the overall cost. Other
benefits of this new invention include the less complicated cabling
works, easy installation, and are overall more efficient.
[0022] Furthermore, the display unit may include a liquid crystal
display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a plasma display
panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light
emitting diode (OLED) display, a projector, a speaker, an earphone,
a headphone, or a device which can present information in
visual/acoustic form. The types of display unit are cited merely
for illustration, not for limitation.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of the present invention, which
discloses a method for transmitting multi-channel signals. In step
20, the audio/video content is first received from a few
audio/video sources. The audio/video sources may include DTV
receivers or local audio/video source as mentioned above, and are
respectively assigned an exclusive UDP port number in step 21. In
another embodiment of the present invention, the other network port
indexes, such as TCP port numbers, might be used to replace the UDP
port numbers. Still, a server is preferably applied to the process
of designation. Next, the audio/video signals are generated by the
server based on the audio/video content in step 22. The generated
audio/video signals contain the assigned information corresponding
to the UDP port numbers. In one embodiment of the present
invention, the audio/video signals are also converted and/or
compressed by the server. After generated and even compressed, the
audio/video signals are transmitted to display units via a hub in
step 23. The server and the display units are connected via a hub,
and such hub may include a switch hub, a router, a wireless access
point, or a gateway. Moreover, the server, the display units, and
the hub may be coupled via the RJ-45 cables or even wireless or
Bluetooth connection.
[0024] Similar to the foregoing display units in system 100, these
display units may comprise various types of display means, such as
a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a
plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display,
an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a projector, a
speaker, an earphone, a headphone, or a device which can present
information in visual/acoustic form. In step 24, audio/video
content of the desired audio/video source is displayed on at least
one of the display units. In other words, the user may select
certain UDP port number via a display unit, and the corresponding
audio/video content would be displayed. Therefore, even without a
tuner, the user is still able to choose "channels."
[0025] With this method, the required number of tuners and antennas
would be the same as that of the provided channels, and much fewer
than that of the display units, i.e., the seats. Thus, the cost,
time, and space required for receiving and transmitting
multi-channel DTV signals in an environment with plenty of display
units are declined to an economical and efficient level.
[0026] In addition, the above system or method can also be seen in
a variety of situations including buildings or a community. For
example, if there are fifty resident families in an apartment
complex and twenty available DTV channels, at least fifty antennas
and tuners are required for every family to receive all DTV
channels. With this new invention, only twenty antennas and tuners
are required. As a result, the present invention is still
economical even when applied to other situations.
[0027] The present invention is intended to cover various
modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit
and scope of the appended claims. The scope should be accorded to
the broadest interpretation as to encompass all such modifications
and similar structure. Various changes can be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *